The White House has denounced Elon Musk for echoing a "reprehensible falsehood" regarding Jewish people, after the Tesla CEO expressed agreement with an antisemitic statement on social media.
On Wednesday, Mr Musk responded to a post that disseminated an antisemitic conspiracy theory, labeling it "actual truth".
Mr Musk has rejected any notion that the post was antisemitic.
A White House spokesman stated that the president's approval of the post, which caused an uproar online, was "inappropriate".
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates condemned the "abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate" in the strongest terms.
He pointed out that the post to which Mr Musk was replying related to a conspiracy theory that had been the catalyst for the 11 deaths at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018.
Mr Bates declared it impermissible to tell the abhorrent falsehood connected to the most destructive instance of anti-Semitism in US history, especially one month after the day that had the most fatal consequences for Jews since the Holocaust transpired on 7 October due to an attack from Hamas.
In a previous tweet, CEO Linda Yaccarino emphasized that the firm has taken decisive steps to combat anti-Semitism and any forms of prejudice. She stated that such hateful behavior has no place anywhere in the world; it is both repulsive and wrong.
On Wednesday, Mr Musk reacted to a post which included claims about Jewish communities promoting animosity towards whites and hostile remarks about immigrants. He responded with a comment of 'truth'.
It looked like a backing of a prejudiced and anti-Semitic idea titled "white genocide," which says that Jewish individuals purposely promote the immigrating of "non-white" people to nations in the West in order to "erase" the white culture.
Robert Bowers, convicted of murdering 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, was inspired by an idea that led to his receiving a sentence of death earlier this year.
Mr Musk asserts he is not prejudiced against Jewish people, and clarified that his remarks were directed toward entities such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) rather than the Jewish population in general, as well as other unnamed "Jewish communities".
Jonathan Greenblatt, Chief Executive of the ADL, recently stated: "Given the immense upsurge in antisemitism both in the United States and across the globe, employing one's influence to validate and spread antisemitic beliefs can be extremely perilous."
The dispute about anti-Jewish sentiment has arisen as certain organisations have chosen to no longer invest in ads on X, formerly designated as Twitter, due to the radical material found on the social media platform.
IBM ceased its advertisement purchases following a study issued by a left-leaning media watchdog indicating its content was situated near posts that praised Adolf Hitler and Nazism.
X reported to the BBC on Thursday that advertisements are not intentionally arranged adjacent to extremist material, that Nazi-encouraging accounts will not gain profits from marketing and that definite postings will be identified as "touchy media".
The European Commission has instructed their departments to refrain from purchasing ads on X due to worries concerning misinformation related to the Israel-Hamas conflict, as stated by Politico's report.
Mr Musk has, on multiple occasions, expressed conspiracy theories and has also voiced his disapproval of organisations such as the ADL and other similar groups who have spoken out with regards to his decisions relating to the content moderation of X.
The company claims that their brand safety controls are superior to other social networks, and maintain that even with a significant reduction in their safety personnel, hate speech and extremism on the platform has diminished. However, a variety of external entities are of the opinion that under Mr Musk's management, there has been a rise of both extremism and hate speech.
Earlier this year, Mr Musk threatened legal action against the ADL, stating that it was "attempting to destroy this platform by wrongfully accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic". He points to pressure groups, not misinformation or radical content, as the cause of a substantial decrease in advertising income since he assumed control.
He has not kept to his promise to take action against the ADL, however the company did bring a legal case against another research and campaign organization, the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
On Thursday, CCDH submitted a legal request to dismiss the lawsuit according to California's anti-SLAPP statute, characterizing the X lawsuit as an endeavor to censor, intimidate, and stifle.
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